IRVING, Texas – The Rice Owls landed a league-leading three student-athletes on the 2017 InTouch Credit Union Conference USA Men’s Track & Field All-Academic Team, the league office announced on Wednesday (5/24) afternoon.

Charlie Card-Childers (junior), Scott Filip (junior) and Griffin Lee (senior) were recognized for both their classroom and athletic achievements. The C-USA All-Academic is comprised of 11 male track and field athletes with a minimum grade point average of 3.2 and at least sophomore class standing.

Card-Childers, from Houston, recorded the third-best C-USA decathlon score (7061 points) with a victory at the Shirley Crowe and won the javelin at the Tom Tellez Invitational. He was also victorious in the high jump and placed second in the shot put at the Houston Invitational. Card-Childers, who earned his first career C-USA Track & Field All-Academic Team honor, is a Cognitive Sciences and Psychology major with a 3.71 GPA. He’ll be competing in the high jump at the NCAA West Prelims in Austin this Saturday (6 p.m.).

Filip, from Bloomingdale, Ill., achieved a career-best 7915 points (second in Rice history) to place second in the decathlon at the Texas Relays, a mark that ranks seventh in the NCAA this outdoor season. On May 12, Filip won the C-USA decathlon title for the second time in his career and it was his fifth career C-USA title between the indoor and outdoor seasons. He also won the C-USA heptathlon title (5680 points) in the 2017 indoor campaign. Filip, who earned her second career C-USA Track & Field All-Academic Team honor, is a Sport Management major with a 3.57 GPA.

Lee, from Birmingham, Ala., posted three top-three finishes in the 3000m steeplechase this outdoor season and placed fifth at the C-USA Outdoor Championships. A Kinesiology and Sport Management major with a 3.63 GPA, Lee established a personal best time of 9:04.16 in the steeplechase with a third place finish at the J. Fred Duckett Twilight. This is the first C-USA Track & Field All-Academic Team honor of her career.